Getting Rid of Spiders

I’ve been asked more than once if I know a “secret” to getting rid of spiders. And I didn’t . . . but trust a TBG reader to share a great tip when they learn it!

I just got this in an email from Christian, a boater from Oregon. Since I don’t have any spiders here in southern Florida, I haven’t tested his method. But I’m guessing it would work.

In his own words:

Just by accident I discovered a trick that I think is quite useful.

Here in the northwest we have a large amount of spiders that find their way into the cabin spaces of our boats. When gone for a few days or many times in the dark of the night they build their webs that I always seem to find with my face.

Yesterday coming back to the boat I found nearly a dozen new webs but all of them unoccupied with the spiders hiding in the cracks and crevices. I had left the boat closed up and as I was expecting company later lit a stick of incense.

Much to my amazement as the smoke drifted up a hiding spider rapidly dropped to the cabin sole. Armed with the stick of incense, I let the smoke go around all of the other web areas where smoked out of hiding I was able to capture all but one spider.

I am going to be a hero at the next dock meeting….

Yep, I think he will be.

Got any other tips for getting rid of spiders? Please share your secrets in the comments!

I’d be curious if it was the actual smoke and any smoke would do or ws it smoke from a specific scent of incense. One trick that I use which I learned from a local woman of knowledge of an Indian tribe is to use pepper tree leaves ion and around my boat, it has a nice smell and spiders and bugs avoid it completely. I change the pepper leaves annually.

Pepper trees are plentiful in our area in Northern California and I just pick them. The pepper is different than the normal black pepper found on the store shelves: it is much more pungent. I actually use the peppercorns for spicing it gives dishes a different flavor signature.

I had heard that Horse Chestnuts (Aesculus hippocastanum) also keep spiders at bay. I thought it was an old wives tale but thought that I had nothing to loose but trying it, as I hate spiders (a good spider is a dead one 🙂
I was pleasently surprised to realise that they work like a charm 🙂 I placed them all aound our bed and after being away from the boat for a couple of months, there was not a single spider web insight 🙂
The Horse Chestnuts give off an odour that spiders dislike and keep them away.

Spiders build webs where THEY THINK they will have the best chance of sucess in catching Flying bugs. Black nats, no see-ums, common house flies, and mosquitoes all show up in our boats uninvited and often from smells our bodies put off. These bugs often follow two paths, they head to the light as in port holes, hatches and lamps or they follow a air current that has a smell in it. Spiders know this and build webs along the way to light or in the path of a air current.
Having spiders in your boat does not guarantee that there are other bugs in your boat besides the spiders.

Cat flea collars will drive them off and keep them away for months at a time, even small bits of them. We wrap them around rail and stanchion bases and pad eyes, and stuff the the bits you cut off there inside the dodger and bimini sleeves, speakers and turnbuckle covers, – anywhere we see a web. We buy them less expensively in bulk on the web, and using the ends maximizes their value. Like any pesticide, you need to evaluate any risks for yourself; since we don’t handle them after putting them out, I’m comfortable using them, at least above deck.

Spiders do not like peppermint oil. Mix some with water in a spray bottle and spray around doors and hatches or anywhere you find them. Peppermint oil also keeps away rodents and other bugs. I had mice chewing the wiring and insulation out of my car. I started applying peppermint oil to a cotton pad and putting it under the hood and the problem stopped. When I actively used the peppermint oil in the house, I did not find spiders. But when I slacked off, they came back. Peppermint oil is common and found in stores, though I ordered mine from Amazon. One word of caution, wear gloves to protect your skin as the oil is very strong!

Ortho Home Defense. You can get it at most big box stores and hardware stores. It comes in a gallon bottle with a sprayer and hose.
You spray this on everything: rigging sail covers, lifelines and any areas inside that spiders line to build their webs. It has a long ( almost 4 months!) residual affect and we went from having to sweep spider webs away every time we went to the boat to not having seen a spider in months.
It’s made for inside home usage so it’s safe ( as a chemical can be ) this was the first year we used it and it was only a partial season so I’m looking to see how long it’s residual is next season.

Please note: I'm currently cruising and don't have internet all the time. Comment approval may be delayed a few days!

Welcome to The Boat Galley

Hi! I'm Carolyn Shearlock. Here you'll find over 1,000 articles with practical tips and info, all based on my years of full-time cruising -- first on a monohull in Mexico and Central America and now on a catamaran in Florida.

After 1,100 miles in the Bahamas this summer, we're back in the Keys and readying the boat to island-hop down to the Virgin Islands this winter.

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